Cawley Insights

Chicago Industrial Vacancy Rate at its Lowest Since 2001

In 2001, a gallon of gas was $1.46, Wikipedia launched online, and Apple released the first ever iPod. This was also the last time Chicago has seen one of its lowest vacancy rates in the industrial market. In the second quarter of 2018, the vacancy rate was at 6.44%.

As stated in the Crain's article, Green Street estimated that e-commerce leasing had boosted demand for warehouse space by 30-40%.The increase in e-commerce has helped lower the industrial real estate vacancy rates. With more people shopping online, companies need more warehouses to store the product and ship faster to the consumer, which in turn, helps fill the vacancies.

Another tactic companies have been utilizing in their search for space is to locate available buildings near major airports. According to the Crain's Chicago Business article, "To maximize their speed, many companies have decided that the best place to open a warehouse is near O'Hare International Airport." This gives companies a larger radius to reach consumers in a shorter amount of time. With e-commerce on the rise, predictions are forecasting the vacancy rates won't fluctuate much more anytime soon.

At Cawley Chicago we firmly believe in the value of any size commercial real estate property. Our submarket specialists know the value in your building or land, and location. Download the Industrial brochure to learn more about our expertise.